5 Best Foot Massagers to Relax You From Heel to Toe

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Your feet work hard with every step you take going from point A to point B, so it’s about time you give them the care they deserve with a reliable foot massager. These therapeutic devices come in a variety of form factors and soothe achy heels and sore soles, which is exactly what you need after stuffing your feet in high heels for hours on end, getting through a cardio blast on a treadmill, or spending the day running around town to check everything off your to-do list.

Investing in a pain-relieving foot massager is like giving yourself the gift of a personal massage therapist available on demand. Plus, giving your partner a foot massager as a gift gets you off the hook for manual rubdowns. Pair it with a foot soak or foot peel to create the ultimate self-care package for a part of the body that deserves some serious TLC.

After careful testing, we assessed which foot massagers are most worthy of your tootsies. Here’s a look at which ones you should consider for yourself or a loved one

The Best Foot Massagers

• Best Overall: Homedics Shiatsu Air 2.0 Foot Massager

• Best Budget: Roll Recovery R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller

• Most Compact: Therabody Wave Solo

• Powerful Stimulation: AccuRelief Ultimate Foot Circulator

• Deepest Massage: Renpho Foot Massager Machine with Heat

What to Consider

When you shop for foot massagers, you’re going to come across tons of different options to choose from. Some are turtle-shell-shaped devices with slots for your feet to get a multi-modality rubdown. Others are travel-friendly rollers that stretch out your arches or vibrate the pads of your feet. Deciding which type is best for you will depend on how much space you have at home, whether you need the foot massager to be portable, and which type of movement therapy feels best for your tootsies.

Here are some factors to help you narrow down your choices.

Style of Massage

Foot massagers offer different types of therapeutic movement for your feet. Vibration and kneading tend to be among the most common and provide the closest experience to a foot massage from an actual human. Some provide compression therapy, which is an effective treatment for swelling and pain and can be great for athletes and travelers. Others offer myofascial release, which can provide relief from pain associated with flat feet and potentially increase foot flexibility.

Some foot massagers (especially the large devices that you place on the floor) offer a variety of therapeutic modalities, giving you options for different types of rubdowns and sensations on a daily basis.

Heat Therapy

If you want toasty toes, get a foot massager that heats up. This can make the experience even more relaxing and potentially boost circulation. Just make sure you have control over how hot the device gets and can turn down the heat if it becomes uncomfortable. All the foot massagers we tried that offer heat therapy took between 5 and 10 minutes to heat up, so if you want to use that feature, we recommend turning the device on for a few minutes before popping your feet in it. It can also be helpful to wear a thick pair of socks for extra warmth and coziness during your foot massage.

Size

Electric foot massagers can be bulky and difficult to store in a small space. Some are also fairly heavy (our favorite one is around 9 pounds!). The bulkiness might be worth it if you want a machine that offers several different types of massages and you mainly plan to use it at home. With that said, you can find effective manual foot massagers that are small and light, too. These can be especially useful if you want a foot massager to stash in your gym bag for an instant rubdown after running on the treadmill or to pop in a suitcase and restore your sore soles after sightseeing on a trip. Shop around until you find the right size foot massager for your needs.

How We Selected

In order to find the best foot massagers on the market, we got hands-on with five of the top options. We let each one work its magic on our feet, all while evaluating how good it felt, how easy it was to use, and whether we experienced any discomfort or other issues while using them. We took into account other features, like portability and size. We also looked at online reviews from other customers to get a sense of how well they liked the foot massagers.

Ready to restore your soles? Here are our favorite foot massagers based on hours of in-person testing and evaluation,

Shiatsu Air 2.0 Foot Massager

If you’re looking for a foot massager that provides a spa-like experience at home, check out the Homedics Shiatsu Air 2.0 Foot Massager. Putting my feet in this gadget for just 10 minutes after a half-hour run on the treadmill made them feel restored.

This electric foot massager offers two types of movement therapies. The shiatsu massage function provides deep kneading in the toes, arch, and heel, while the air compression squeezes the feet to mimic the experience of a professional massage. You can toggle between three different intensities for each feature and turn on and off the warming feature to personalize the massage to your liking using the intuitive buttons on the top of the device.

I opted for medium intensity on the kneading and compression massage, as well as soothing heat. The foot massager worked out knots in my sole and helped my feet feel relaxed. I also really liked the compression function—the squeezes felt like they released tension in my feet—although I wish it was a little quieter. While the warming feature felt nice, it took longer than I would’ve liked to heat up, so consider pre-warming this for a few minutes ahead of your foot massage if you want it toasty.

The biggest downside of this foot massager is the size. The Homedics Shiatsu Air 2.0 is just over 17 inches long, 14 inches wide, and 8 inches tall—so don’t expect it to be easy to hide under a couch when not in use. It might not be the right option if you live in a small space, but if you’ve got the room, you’ll love having access to the high-quality massage therapies this foot massager offers. On the bright side, it can officially accommodate up to a size 13 in men’s feet, and some customers say it works for even larger feet, too.

Reviewers say this foot massager makes a romantic gift for a partner. Says one reviewer, “I purchased this for my wife for Valentine’s Day so she could mainly use it while working from home [and] she loves it. It's not too big and the heating function helps when her feet are cold, I can even fit my size 14 feet in well enough for a massage.”

R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller

For a foot massager that’s under $40, the R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller from ROLL Recovery really gets the job done. Made out of a soft almost rubbery plastic, this 5.5-inch-long foot roller was designed to put therapeutic pressure on specific areas of the foot to stretch all its muscles and plantar fascia—hence its unique asymmetrical form. All you need to do is sit or stand with one foot atop the gadget and roll it back and forth or side to side to target the areas that need a massaging stretch.

When I used it, I found that it was just like the foam rollers I’ve used on my back and legs, but designed for my feet. The non-slip surface material gripped the floor well and allowed me to get the pressure I was looking for simply by shifting how much of my bodyweight I applied to the device. Moving my heel from side to side in the deepest groove of the R3 Foot Roller felt therapeutic, while rolling the device back and forth beneath my arches delivered a pleasant stretch. This foot massager is also lightweight (just 1 pound) and compact. As someone who travels frequently, I appreciate that I could bring it with me on a trip to stretch out my feet after a day of sightseeing. It’d be a great gift idea for a hiker or athlete, too.

Even though it doesn’t deliver quite as intense a massage as electric foot massagers, ROLL Recovery’s R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller is a solid option for restoring sore feet. Says one reviewer, “I am on my feet for work most of the day so the relief I get after a session with the R3 is priceless. I highly recommend it to anybody looking for relief from pain and discomfort in their feet.”

Wave Solo Massager

For decades, athletes have rolled lacrosse balls under their feet to soothe soreness and ease tension. Therabody builds on this long-standing tradition in a smart new way with its Wave Solo foot massager. This 3.4-inch-diameter ball wrapped in textured silicone delivers the therapeutic benefits of the old-school lacrosse ball, but with the added advantage of vibration to dig deep into the muscle and shift pain out of the body. Simply charge it up using the accompanying USB-A to USB-C cable (mine fully charged in under an hour), press the button on the base to toggle between three different intensities, and get rolling.

When I used the Therabody Wave Solo under my foot while seated on the couch, I found it gave a pleasant buzzy sensation that worked through pain in my feet as I rolled it around. The medium intensity worked well for me, and I was able to use my bodyweight to get more pressure when I wanted it. The innovative wave-like texture of the silicone around the device helped give it traction between my skin and the floor. The compact shape also made it easy to pinpoint the therapy into my sore spots, like my heels and arches.

I also appreciated the versatility of this vibrating ball, too—it can be used throughout your body. I rolled it on my outer glute and my thigh to ease soreness after a run for about 5 minutes on each side, and it worked really well. To see just how many ways you can use the Wave Solo, connect it to the Therabody App via Bluetooth. It offers tons of routines—complete with cartoon animations demonstrating the moves—to soothe other parts of your body, including your hips, hamstrings, chest. Even though the Wave Solo only offers one type of movement therapy, it does it really well, so it’s a winner in my book.

Ultimate Foot Circulator Massager

I’ll admit it: the AccuRelief Ultimate Foot Circulator freaked me out at first. It has six different buttons to adjust the settings on the device, two footpads covered in little nodules, a remote control, and a package of lead wires and electrode pads to stick on the body. It looked more like a medical device you might see at a physical therapist’s office than a foot massager for at-home self-care. It delivers electronic muscle stimulation (EMS)—a new-to-me type of therapy that uses electrical impulses to help muscles contract and ultimately soothe pain. The entire situation intimidated me.

But after reading the directions, I felt prepared to give it a whirl. I learned that the lead wires and electrode pads are used for delivering EMS to other parts of the body besides the feet, so I pushed those aside, plugged the device into the wall using the electric adapter, and put my tootsies on the foot pedals. I used the buttons on the gadget and slowly increased the intensity of the stimulation until I finally felt something, at about a level 15, which was still at the low end of the available range. I immediately felt a gentle prickling, almost like pins and needles. A 10-minute session made my feet feel more relaxed than when I started, and I bet that using a higher setting would offer even more relief.

While this wasn’t my favorite foot massager, a lot of reviewers say the AccuRelief Ultimate Foot Circulator helped them and their loved ones with pain and other conditions, such as plantar fasciitis and restless leg syndrome (although it’s a good idea to chat with a doctor before using any device to treat a specific condition). Says one reviewer, “I bought it for my wife who was just returning from a stay in hospital to help rehabilitate her legs. That is going great, but I decided to try it myself each evening and, lo and behold, my restless legs at bedtime just went away!”

Foot Massager Machine with Heat

Love a deep-tissue massage? Then check out the RENPHO Foot Massager Machine with Heat. The kneading massage function on this electronic foot massager was so intense, I could only tolerate it in the lowest of its three settings. Same goes for its air compression function, too. The lowest compression setting gave my feet a very firm squeeze. I lasted about 7 minutes in this gadget before I felt my feet were good to go.

According to RENPHO, this foot massager can accommodate feet up to a men’s size 12. I felt that the kneading didn’t hit quite at the right spots on my women’s size 8 feet, but would probably work better for larger feet. It comes with a handy remote, so you don’t need to bend down to adjust the settings. There’s a built-in timer, too, in case you want a set-it-and-forget-it rubdown. The heating function took a while to kick in and didn’t get as warm as I’d like, but that ultimately didn’t make a huge difference in my massage experience. I recommend pre-heating it before slipping your feet into the foot massager.

Like other electronic foot massagers, this one is pretty bulky. It clocks in at 11 pounds and is 22 inches wide, 13.3 inches long, and 12 inches tall, so this foot massager is ideal for people who don’t live in tiny apartments. With that being said, the size hasn’t been an issue for other customers. The product has earned a 4.4-star rating from more than 20,000 reviewers. Says one reviewer, “I tried several different foot massagers [and] this is by far the best… This has tapping and rolling and squeezing. Don't waste your time trying another foot massager machine. [It’s a] great gift, too.”

Health Benefits of Foot Massagers

Foot massagers do more than help you kick up your feet and relax after a long day — it turns out they may actually provide some health benefits, as well. According to Dr. Alissa Kuizinas, a board-certified podiatrist in the Boston area, foot massaging devices can increase blood circulation, improve sensory stimulation, and provide pain relief. “There are also studies showing that foot massage can lower heart rate and induce a relaxation response in the body. So, there are both local benefits to the feet but also more global benefits to the body as a whole,” she adds.

While using a foot massager can be beneficial for many people, it can be especially restorative for athletes or those who exercise regularly. “Foot massagers can be great for generalized muscle soreness, to use as a recovery tool in between periods of exercise or activity, and to promote circulation and relaxation,” says Dr. Kuizinas. “They can also help soothe muscles and connective tissue, bring in more blood flow, and provide relaxation in the structures in the feet and the body as a whole.”

Foot massagers can also be a useful tool for people with plantar fasciitis, which affects about 10% of adults in the U.S. It’s the most common culprit behind heel pain, according to the Cleveland Clinic. “Plantar fasciitis, one of the most common foot injuries, occurs when the ligament that originates at the heel bone is strained. The massage gun used in this area helps to heal the inflammatory changes and restore collagen tissue that may be damaged,” explains Dr. Jason Gold, board-certified podiatrist at Foot, Ankle & Leg Vein Center.

Are Foot Massagers Safe?

Generally speaking, foot massagers are safe for most people to use regularly. However, a very intense rubdown could do more harm than good, says Dr. Kuizinas. “Overly aggressive massaging can lead to irritation, pain, or even tissue injury if the device is not used properly,” she warns. “Sometimes people can experience headaches or generalized muscle pains after using a massaging device.”

If you experience pain, irritation, hot spots, or a burning sensation in your feet while using a foot massaging device (or after), that’s a sign you should reduce the intensity or give it a break for a few days. “When using massaging devices, you should allow ample time in between uses to allow the body to recover. Generally, at least 24 hours is best,” notes Dr. Kuizinas.

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